Indore, February 13 "How can we forget the moments we spent with our child?" asks the grieving father of Siya Prajapati, one of the youngest patients to die during the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated drinking water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area.
The family of Siya is struggling to come to terms with her death, more than a month after she first fell ill.
Affectionately called "Laddu" at home, family members of the girl become emotional whenever they see photos and videos of her playing and eating happily.
According to family members, Siya first suffered from diarrhoea on December 27, allegedly after drinking contaminated water, and her condition deteriorated so much that despite treatment at two hospitals, her life could not be saved.
Officials said the girl, who was suffering from liver abscess, pneumonia, and other serious health problems, breathed her last on Tuesday morning (February 10) at the city's Government Super Specialty Hospital.
Liver abscess is a serious infection in which pus fills the liver.
Siya's father, Suraj Prajapati, told news agency PTI on Friday, "My daughter, born after many prayers, was very playful. We used to lovingly call her 'Laddu' at home. My wife is in a bad state after her passing and is crying profusely. How can we forget the moments we spent with our child?"
Prajapati lives in a rented house in Bhagirathpura, the ground zero of the contaminated water tragedy that has put India's cleanest city under scrutiny and negative attention, and runs a trouser sewing unit.
He became emotional as he recalled how his daughter would immediately run and take him in his arms whenever he returned home at night after long hours at work.
According to Prajapati, his daughter was completely healthy before the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura due to contaminated drinking water in December-end.
He said, "After my daughter developed diarrhoea on December 27, we took her to a doctor. After treatment, my daughter's health improved. However, after a few days, her condition worsened again, and we had to admit her to the Government Chacha Nehru Hospital."
Prajapati informed that when Siya's condition did not improve, his daughter was moved from the Government Chacha Nehru Hospital to the Government Super Specialty Hospital.
He explained, "My daughter had swelling on her stomach. The doctors told me that her liver had filled with pus due to the infection spreading throughout her body."
Prajapati said that while his daughter was in critical condition at the hospital, he faced mental stress in activating his family's Ayushman health card by submitting KYC (Know Your Customer) documents, and he even complained twice to the CM Helpline.
"The day after my daughter's death, I received a call from the CM Helpline call centre, telling me that my Ayushman card had been activated, so I should withdraw my complaint," he stated.
Prajapati said despite the Ayushman card issued by the government being inactive during the early days of Siya's hospitalization, his daughter received free treatment at both state-run hospitals, although he had to purchase some medicines from outside.
A distraught father insisted no amount of financial assistance can fill the void created by his toddler daughter's tragic death.
He said, "I have not received any financial assistance from the government so far. Even if I receive this assistance, it will not bring my daughter back."
Locals have claimed a total of 35 deaths so far in the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak that began in Bhagirathpura in late December due to contaminated water.
A one-member commission headed by Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, a former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, is conducting a judicial inquiry into the contaminated drinking water tragedy on HC orders.
The Madhya Pradesh government has provided financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of more than 20 people who lost their lives during the outbreak.
Officials claim some of these people died from other illnesses and causes, but financial assistance was provided to the families of all the deceased on humanitarian grounds.